Set Goals Before Starting Your First Email Campaign
Before launching your first email marketing campaign, you need to set some goals. Once you’ve defined a few immediate goals, break down the steps for achieving them and how you’ll determine when you’ve succeeded.
Following are some of the most common goals in email marketing.
Driving website traffic
Many marketers craft their email campaigns primarily to drive traffic to their website. If that’s your goal, think about how you’ll do that.
If you’re a B2B marketer, you may be able to drive traffic to your website by loading it with industry-relevant news, videos and research. That means, of course, you have to create that content before launching your marketing campaign.
In B2C marketing, a big sale might create a surge in website traffic. But was your goal to increase one-time visits? A goal of increasing long-term website engagement will likely require you to produce some quality content, such as a blog that you can promote via email.
Building brand awareness
Quick! Name the first soft drink that comes to mind. Was it Coke? Or Pepsi? You probably didn’t think of Diet Rite or Shasta.
Successful brands like Coca-Cola are experts in cultivating brand awareness. Marketers may overlook the importance of developing brand awareness, because they’re focusing narrowly on increasing sales. But when people know about your brand and respect it, they’re more likely to choose you over your competitors.
Again, great content is the foundation of fostering brand awareness. Whether you use still photos, videos or the written word, connect with your audience by giving them something meaningful. Make that content easy to share, so you can make an impression on people beyond your mailing list.
Nurturing leads
Lead nurturing campaigns focus on those people who seem interested in your product or service but haven’t taken further action. So, for example, if a website visitor downloaded a case study about a specific topic, you could send a follow-up email offering related information. You’re not trying to sell anything just yet, but you want to offer some educational value.
You’ve probably noticed a theme here. No matter what your goals are, you’re going to need great content. As you roll out your marketing campaign, make sure you’re devoting a good deal of time to developing the kind of content that will engage customers and keep them coming back for more.